Tropical regions of the world have a rich diversity of marine life. Abundant families of demersal and pelagic fish exist in these regions. The most common families inhabiting the Caribbean Sea include snappers (Lutjanidae), groupers (Serranidae), grunts (Pomadasyidae), and squirrelfish (Holocentridae). Snappers greatly outnumber the other families in deepwater habitats.
About 28 percent of the world's fish catch, nearly 90 million tons, are found in tropical waters. However, because of improper handling, most of those fish spoil, resulting in huge losses of a nutritious food. Hence, fresh fish are seldom available in interior parts of tropical countries.
Bacterial attack has an effect on the keeping quality of the fish. In tropical areas, fish spoil within hours at ambient temperatures because bacteria on the surface of the fish, including the skin, rapidly multiply and invade the tissue inside, while a series of biochemical events taking place inside the fish accelerate the decomposition process.
Thus, there is a need to prevent the loss of a source of high-quality protein food and to make such fish products available in tropical regions in resource-poor countries where modern refrigeration systems are not widely available. A process that would keep tropical fish from spoiling would be beneficial in providing fresh fish to people inland and remote from fishing water sources who would otherwise have no way of getting fresh fish.